Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures clawed back early losses and ended higher on Monday on good U.S. export demand and after Argentina’s new government said it would raise export taxes on soymeal and soyoil in the world’s supplier of the soy products.
The news from Buenos Aires, which could benefit U.S. soy product exports, more than offset early-session pressure from recent rains in South America that have stabilized drought-hit crops.
Corn and wheat futures fell, pressured by technical selling.
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Trading was choppy as market participation was beginning to dwindle ahead of the year-end holidays.
Investors monitored weather forecasts for South America, where rains have aided recently planted crops in northern Brazil following a hot, dry start to the season. But parts of the region were missed by rains and may remain dry again through this month, forecasters said.
“We have made gains in stabilizing the crops in Brazil, and we think we have a better crop in Argentina … but we’re not out of the woods yet,” said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.
Good export demand also underpinned soybeans following a series of large sales announced last week and talk of continued buying interest from China.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday also reported corn and soybean export inspections last week near the high end of a range of trade estimates.
Chicago Board of Trade January soybeans SF24 were up 11-1/4 cents at $13.27 a bushel, while March corn was down 6 cents at $4.77 a bushel.
CBOT March wheat fell 12-1/2 cents to $6.17 a bushel.
Plentiful world wheat supplies, particularly from Russia, weighed on prices, with Russia expected to supply a substantial part of a hefty 1.35 million tons bought by Saudi Arabia on Monday along with EU suppliers.
–Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Peter Peter Hobson in Canberra.
